


Stars

by keyboard_made_of_glass



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Inktale (Undertale), Error/ink - Freeform, M/M, Oops, and sci, briefly, dream is there too, errink - Freeform, error is a disaster, he has a lot to do with the story despite only appearing in one scene, not over 6k words long, so is ink, they're dumb, this was supposed to be short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:55:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keyboard_made_of_glass/pseuds/keyboard_made_of_glass
Summary: Error went to Outertale for some peace and quiet. Ink went there to try to get rid of the creators' feelingsNeither of them were expecting what was to come
Relationships: Errink, Error/Ink
Comments: 15
Kudos: 171





	Stars

**Author's Note:**

> hi! 'tis i, the author! uh- i just wanted to say that holy shit this was NOT supposed to be 6k words. when i started writing it, i opened google docs with a short and sweet drabble in mind- of error comforting ink in outertale. but instead, i got hit with a heapload of inspiration and wrote this fic which i'm really proud of! i hope you enjoy!

It’s late. At least, Error thinks it is. It’s kinda hard to tell if it’s late or not when there’s no concept of time in the antivoid. The point is, Error couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know why he couldn’t sleep, but thought that maybe a peaceful trip to Outertale would help. Error nodded to himself, opening a glitchy portal to the world. He stepped through with a sigh, the atmosphere, or lack thereof, was very calming. He sat down on the grass, planning on blocking everything out and knitting, when something caught his attention. Or rather, someone.  
“What are you doing here?”  
Ink jumped, looking up from his spot, and Error stepped back. The guardian was crying? Why? He can’t feel anything. He shouldn’t be able to cry. Error couldn’t stop the pang of guilt that shot through him.  
“O-oh! Hey Error. I wasn’t expecting you to be here so late.” Ink wiped away the rainbow tears, grinning as if he hadn’t just been sobbing. What the heck is with this guy?  
“Why were you crying?” Shit, that made him sound concerned. He wasn’t, he told himself. He just wanted answers. Did the idiot overdose on his paint again?  
“Don’t worry about it,” Ink waved a hand. “Just stupid guardian stuff. Feeling unmotivated, uninspired, frustrated-” he stopped “what was I talking about?”  
Error grumbled to himself, sitting down. “I don’t know. I stopped listening.”  
Ink laughs. “Of course you did.”  
They sat there for a moment, Ink pulling out his sketchbook and Error reaching through a portal for some knitting needles. Both began to work on their things, no sound except for the scratching of graphite on paper and the tapping of the needles hitting together gently. For a while, they sat in peace. But then Ink had to open his stupid mouth.  
“So, what are you doing here? It’s pretty late.”  
“The antivoid doesn’t have a concept of time. I don’t know when it’s late or not.”  
“Right… That still doesn’t answer my question.”  
Error sighed, shooting a glare at the shorter skeleton. “I couldn’t sleep. I came here for some peace and quiet.”  
Ink blinked, his eyelights forming an orange triangle and purple swirl. “Is that your way of telling me to shut up or leave?”  
“Yes.”  
Ink smiled, laughing a little. “Okay, Glitchy.”  
“Don’t call me that.”  
uwu clever transition  
It’s been awhile since the incident in Outertale. Error wasn’t quite sure how long, after all, why would he care? That aside, he couldn’t help but be curious. Ink wasn’t supposed to feel anything, and why would he make himself miserable on purpose? As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to know. But that would require talking to Ink, which was a solid no. He couldn’t stand the protector, there’s no way he would actively search him out to talk.  
Apparently, though, Error didn’t even get a choice. He opened a portal to Outertale once again, and once again he found Ink sitting on the ground drawing. He stopped, thinking. On the one hand, Outertale seemed to be the one place they could be together without actually fighting, and would be a good time for Error to get the answers he wanted, but on the other it was Ink. He contemplated closing the portal and just going back another time, but Ink had already noticed him and was waving excitedly. Error groaned, closing the portal and walking towards him. Ink seemed to light up even more at that, looking away briefly to scribble something down on his scarf.  
“Okay, Inkblot. I have some questions for you. And you’re gonna answer them. Or I’m gonna leave. Capiche?”  
“Oh- Okay? What’s up?’’  
Error sat down, looking directly at Ink. “So, you don’t have a soul, and therefore can’t feel anything.” He said it more as a statement.  
“Yeaaaah you already knew that?” Ink cocked his head to the side. Error pretended like he didn’t think it was adorable.  
“And your paints-” he motioned to the sash of colorful vials Ink literally always wore. “Make you feel things.” This time Ink just nodded, curious as to where this was going.  
“Last time I saw you here, you were crying. Why would you intentionally make yourself miserable if you can control it?”  
Ink’s eyelights turned to question marks. “I was crying here?” He looked down at his scarf, muttering to himself as he read through the notes. His eyes lit up (metaphorically) when he found what he was looking for. “Oh!”  
Error internally groaned. Of course he doesn’t remember it. “Well?”  
“Weeeeell. It’s kinda hard to explain. Part of being the protector of the multiverse is that I can feel the creators emotions. It can be nice, because it feels like I’m feeling something without my vials, but it never lasts long. Last time, I’m gonna guess that a lot of creators were upset or frustrated and it ended up getting projected onto me. That happens sometimes, and it’s not the most fun, so I usually just find a quiet place to cry it out for a while.” He smiles. “Is that all you needed to know?”  
Error stared at Ink for a bit, processing the information. After a while, he nodded slowly. “Yeah. That’s all.” With that, he left.

More and more, he kept running into Ink in Outertale. He thought it a coincidence at first, but after a pattern began to appear he realized that Ink was purposefully waiting for him there. Why, he never knew. And didn’t care. The first few times were really annoying, and Error would end up either leaving or kicking Ink out, but he had begun to enjoy Ink’s presence there. Of course, he would never admit that to himself, or Ink.  
Opening a portal to Outertale, Error was unsurprised to see Ink there, drawing as usual. He fought away a smile, walking over and sitting near Ink, but not close enough that he was uncomfortable. One of the few things he appreciated about Ink was that Ink never questioned his actions when it came to his haphephobia. Nor did he ever invade his personal space, which surprised Error considering Ink always seemed like a touchy feely type of person. Ink looked up with a bright smile.  
“Hi, Glitchy!”  
Error bit back a retort. He had learned that regardless of how many times he said it, Ink would always call him that nickname. He’d even seen it written on his scarf a few times, making him wonder if he called him glitchy outside of their meetings.  
“Hi, Squid.”  
Ink gave him a bright smile before returning to his work. Error couldn’t help but be a bit curious as to what he was drawing. Ink never showed anyone his work, not even his closest friends. He wasn’t entirely sure why that was.  
“What are you drawing?”  
Ink looked up, a hint of rainbow blush tinting his face. “Oh, you’d laugh.” The response honestly surprised Error. He always thought Ink thought very highly of himself, and by extension his art.  
“I would? Why?”  
“It’s just a page filled with doodles.” He smiled nonchalantly, setting the sketchbook down in the grass. The urge to lean over and look was pricking at Error, but he didn’t wanna mess up whatever he had with Ink.  
“Can I see?”  
Ink’s eyes lit up, turning to stars. “You’re curious? Really?!”  
Error supposed he should have expected a response like that, having usually not shown interest in whatever Ink was doing, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he was curious. “Yeah.”  
Ink’s expression suddenly turned really serious. “Promise you won’t laugh at me?”  
“What- Uh sure.” He couldn’t help his hesitation. After all, he was still a Sans and Sans hated promises.  
With that, Ink let out a small sigh and nudged the sketchbook towards him. Error looked at the page, a blush suddenly dusting his cheeks. They were doodles of him. He blinked a few times, looking from Ink to the sketchbook. The skeletons cheeks were dusted with a rainbow, and he looked a little nervous. Why? Why would he care about the opinion of his enemy?  
“They’re cute.” was all that Error said. Ink let out a small breath, pulling the sketchbook back to himself. Error was even more confused now.  
“Why were you nervous?”  
“I- what? About the sketches?”  
“Obviously.”  
“Oh!” Ink laughed a little. “It’s silly, really.”  
“So’s your face.” Ink’s face scrunched up and he stuck his tongue out. It was cute.  
“Anyways. Art is just really personal to me. Especially because they were drawings of you, I was scared you would think I was weird or that they were bad.”  
Error blinked. “Why do you care about what I think?”  
Ink’s pupils became question marks. “Because you’re my friend?” The way he said it made it sound like it was obvious, but that was the first that Error had even heard of Ink’s opinion of him. Friend. He thought of him as a friend. Error had never had a friend in what he could remember as Error. At least, not a friend he hadn’t forced into being friends *cough*blueberror*cough*. Error was so lost in thought that he hadn’t realized that Ink was staring at him worriedly.  
“We are friends, right? I just figured, since we hang out together a lot and talk about things like our interests, that we were friends. Was I reading it wrong?” He was worried that Error didn’t think of them as friends. Ink was worried about what Error thought.  
Feelings were overwhelming his brain and he almost crashed, but barely managed not to. He hated to admit it, like really hated to, but the thought of having Ink as a friend wasn’t as bad as it was just months prior.  
Error smiled. A real, genuine smile that he hadn’t felt in so long. “Yeah. We are friends.”

After that, Error’s hang-out sessions with Ink became a lot more frequent. And long. He slowly stopped getting annoyed whenever Ink would rant about a new au the creators were working on, or whatever had happened that day, and started genuinely listening. He liked the way Ink’s face would light up whenever he talked about the au’s, even if he hated them. He liked how Ink had begun to show him some of his drawings, most of them being him. He had even given him one of the drawings he made during one of their hangouts!  
Error walked through a portal at the usual time, and as usual Ink was already there. He looked up, his eyelights turning to stars and he grinned the most dorky, adorable grin- what. Error froze in his steps, his face heating up. He did not just think that. About Ink. Ink was not adorable. He wasn’t. Error repeated that thought to himself as he continued over, sitting down.  
“Are you okay Glitchy?”  
“I’m fine.” He hadn’t meant to snap, but he was a bit lost in his thoughts. Ink held up his hands in a ‘I surrender’ sort of way.  
“Sorry, I just-” He just apologized?? To Ink?? What the hell was happening? “..I have a lot on my mind.” He quickly dug through a portal for his most recent project, trying to distract himself.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you wanna talk about it?”  
“The last thing I wanna do right now is acknowledge it.”  
“Understandable.” Ink went back to his drawing, and Error leaned over to see what he was working on today. Ink was slowly but surely getting more lenient with what Error saw, and it had gotten to the point that he even let Error watch him draw. It made him feel weird and warm inside. And that feeling worsened when he saw the sketch of himself on the page. He was clearly in Outertale, staring up at the starry sky with a soft smile on his face, his eyes sparkling. He was wearing his glasses in the picture, which, he realized, he had stopped caring if Ink saw him with them on. All in all, the picture was amazing. And it was just the sketch. Having seen some of Ink’s finished works, he gaped at the page.  
“Glitchy? Are you okay? You’re blushing, like, a lot.” Error was snapped back into reality, realizing how close he had gotten to Ink while he was watching him, and jumping back.  
“Yes! I’m fine! Great!” He hadn’t even realized he was blushing. “The drawing looks really good, by the way…” Ink smiled that adorable smile again.  
“Aw, I’m glad you like it! I’ll try to remember to show it to you once it’s done.” He was scribbling notes down on his scarf as he spoke, smiling more. Error was convinced that Ink’s smile was brighter than the sun. The warm feeling increased at the thought that Ink wanted to hang out with Error again. No matter how long they had been hanging out, he couldn’t help the nagging fear that Ink just pitied him. He constantly tried pushing it away, reasoning that Ink didn’t seem like the type to pity people, but the fear was still there.  
“...I have something for you.” Error couldn’t help but feel nervous. What if Ink didn’t like it? What if he thought it was bad? What if-.  
“Wait really?!” Ink stared at him in disbelief, before his eyes widened and he turned to the side, throwing up ink. Error’s face scrunched in disgust. This had happened a few times, usually when Error would compliment Ink’s work, but it was still gross. Ink wiped the remaining ink away from his mouth.  
“Uh- yeah…” He shuffles through a portal, before his hand felt the soft texture and he pulled it out. It wasn’t anything much, just a really simple blanket, but Error really hoped Ink would like it.  
Ink gasped, a hand covering his mouth as he tried not to throw up again, and Error handed him the blanket.  
“You… you made this? For me? Like- you made it with me in mind?” Obviously he had, considering that he had gone out and gotten an array of rainbow yarn instead of just using his strings.  
“Yeah… I thought- I thought that since you’ve made so many little things for me I would make something for you in return…” It sounded dumb when he said it out loud, but apparently it was good enough as Ink grinned, standing up and running a few feet away and throwing up more ink. Error looked away, not wanting to watch, and after a minute or two Ink returned, sitting back down.  
“I love it Glitchy! It’s so pretty!” He was staring at Error excitedly, his eyes multicolored stars. He had that adorable grin on his face and it honestly looked like he wanted to hug him.  
“...you want to hug me right now, don’t you.” It was a statement, not a question, but either way Ink nodded enthusiastically. Error sighed, staring down at his hands. He didn’t want to even touch Ink, the phantom pain there to remind him of what would happen, but Ink looked so excited. He definitely couldn’t handle a hug, but maybe…  
Error looked back at Ink, holding out his hand. Ink gasped. “You’re letting me hold your hand?!” He stared at Error in disbelief.  
Error sighed. “Yes, but if I crash please let go.” Ink nodded quickly, and slowly moved his hand towards the others as if he was a cat that could easily be startled. He wasn’t entirely wrong.  
Error’s soul was beating harder as Ink’s hand got closer, and he held his breath. After what felt like literal ages, Ink’s hand grasped onto his, and the expected pain shot through his bones. He sucked in a sharp breath, squeezing his eyes shut and desperately fighting away a crash. Ink’s grip was gentle, ready to pull away at any given moment, but surprisingly… the pain disappeared. Well, not entirely. It was still there, but it had died down enough that Error could tolerate it. He opened his eyes, looking at Ink who was staring back at him, his eyes sparkling. He slowly let his fingers wrap around Ink’s hand, the pain surprisingly fading even more. He looked down at their hands in wonder, twisting them around curiously.  
Ink was staying as still as he possibly could, which Error appreciated, but he was still shaking slightly. What surprised him even more was that the longer he held on, the more the pain faded away. This had never happened before. The pain wasn’t supposed to go away. After a minute, the confusion grew and Error pulled his hand away. Ink was grinning brightly, as if he knew that he was the first person Error had been able to touch for that long. He probably did know, honestly, with how much random stuff about him he knew.  
“Are you okay? You didn’t crash!” Even with how excited Ink was, he still made sure Error was okay? The warm feeling in his soul and face returned, and Error had to look away.  
“Yeah… I’m fine. Which is weird. But I’ll worry about it later.” He smiled softly at Ink, who smiled in return, making Error’s blush worse.  
“I’m gonna go home now, though. I’m really exhausted from fighting off a crash.” He opened a portal to the antivoid, giving Ink one last tired smile before disappearing into it.

Error couldn’t believe it. He just couldn’t. He had ignored it for as long as he could, but now it was just ridiculous. He was in love with Ink. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that. He knew it everytime Ink smiled, or laughed, or did anything at all. He just pretended that part of his mind didn’t exist for as long as he could, but now it was just too much. And it hurt. It hurt because Ink couldn’t love him back. It hurt because even if he could, it would be fake. It hurt because even though he knew all of this, he still loved him.  
Error was sitting in Outertale, sulking over this whole ordeal. It hurt him really bad, because he wanted to do that stupid sappy shit that couples do with him. Well, maybe not all of it, but occasional cuddles and hand holding would be nice. He was staring at the first drawing that Ink had given him. It was of him, as expected, sitting in Outertale working on one of his projects. He sighed softly, laying back. When he did, however, a certain colorful skeleton appeared in his view. He let out a small yell, scrambling to sit and turning to look at Ink.  
“When did you get here?!” Ink smiled.  
“A little bit ago. You looked really peaceful, so I didn’t wanna bother you.” Of course that made Error blush.  
“So you came here to spy on me?” he was mostly teasing. Mostly.  
Ink’s usually carefree expression was replaced with a more serious one. “Actually, I have to talk to you.”  
The sentence sent chills down his spine, and suddenly everything he’s ever done when with Ink flashed through his mind.  
Ink sat down, looking at Error. He looked almost… sad. What happened? Did Error do something wrong? “Error… I need to ask you an important question, and you need to answer me honestly, kay?” Error nodded slowly, even more afraid now. Ink never calls him Error.  
“Error… Do you like me? Like, more than just a friend?” A heavy blush hit Error’s face full force. Ink noticed? He thought he was doing everything he could to prevent that!  
“I- what gave you that idea?” Sure, Error. Act Oblivious. He knows already.  
“Error, please. Answer the question. This is important.”  
Error stares at Ink for a moment, before looking away, nodding just slightly. He heard Ink take a breath, letting it out slowly. He was uncomfortably close to crashing, and he was scared of what Ink would say next.  
“You know I can’t love you back, Right? Even if I could mimic love with my vials, it just… it wouldn’t be the same. It would be like faking. And I would feel bad…”  
Error supposed that was what he was expecting Ink to say. He knew already that. Hence why he wasn’t even planning on telling Ink at all, and hoping for it to go away. Too late for that, he thought to himself.  
“I wish I could love you back.” Error’s breath caught in his throat and he looked over at Ink in shock. “I care about you, quite a lot. I mean, I went out of my way to befriend you when you wanted nothing to do with me.” He looks down sadly. “I think, that, if I had the ability, I would love you. A lot.” Error just continued to stare at Ink. Literally none of this was what he expected, even less so hearing that Ink wants to feel the same way. He couldn’t stop the tears that formed in his eyes, nor stop them from spilling out.  
Of course this was his luck. Of course, the one person he gave his heart to, the person who somehow believed in him, befriended him, became the first person to truly care about him, wouldn’t be able to feel the same. It hurts even more to know that Ink wants to feel the same. He let out a glitched cry, curling in on himself. It all just hurt so much.  
He could tell by Ink’s small gasp that he wasn’t expecting Error to cry. Hell, ERROR wasn’t expecting Error to cry.  
“Error- stars- Error I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry I- shit- What do I do?” Error let out small sobs, attempting to stop them but with little success, when he suddenly felt something thick and warm around his neck. He opened his eyes, a dark blue filling his vision. He tugged the fabric down, revealing that it was a scarf. Ink was still freaking out slightly, but stopped when he saw Error looking at him. Error quickly wiped away the tears, nuzzling into the soft fabric. Ink smiled, that warm, comforting smile that Error loved.  
“I’m sorry Error…” His voice was soft, reminding him of the situation. Error let out a small sigh, looking down.  
“It’s not your fault Squid… Don’t blame yourself for something out of your control.” Ink let out a small, sad hum, standing up.  
“I’ll leave you be. If you need anything, you know how to summon me.” And with that, Ink disappeared into a puddle of well- ink.

Ink didn’t show up for a while. At first, Error thought it was his way of giving him space, but now he’s worried. He’s even traveled other aus in an attempt to find him! For a little bit, Error just tried to ignore his worry, assuming that the other just needed time, but it had to have been months at this point. Without anything else he could think to do, Error went to Dream.

“I need your help.”  
Dream let out a small scream, quickly summoning his bow and turning around to face the glitchy skeleton that just appeared behind him. His panic turned to confusion and he tilted his head, letting the bow disappear.  
“Error? What the hell are you doing here?”  
“I’m worried about Ink. I haven’t seen him in months and I don’t know where he is.” Error kept his voice as monotone as he could, but a bit of his true emotions still seeped through. He blamed Dream for that, even though it was probably his own fault.  
“You mean he didn’t tell you? He’s been working with Sci to make him an artificial soul.” Dream just sounded more confused. Error assumed that Dream knew about their meetings, based on his reaction, but why wouldn’t Ink tell him something like that?  
Error debated snapping at Dream, but decided it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t like it was Dream’s fault, anyways. “...Thanks for telling me.” He opened a portal, quickly stepping through it and closing it while Dream stared in confusion.  
“Did Error just say thank you???”

Error quite literally threw the door off its hinges when he reached Sci’s lab. He was mad. He didn’t know what he was mad at, maybe Ink for not telling him, or Sci for possibly doing stupid tests on Ink, but he knew he was mad. Sci let out a yell and turned to look at the door, and Ink looked up from his spot next to some weird machine.  
“Glitchy? What are you-”  
“Where the hell have you been, Ink? You just suddenly disappeared with literally no warning and nothing telling where you were. You could’ve been hurt!”  
Sci looked like he had literally no idea what was going on, while Ink smiled sheepishly.  
“I’m sorry Glitchy. I wanted to surprise you.”  
“Surprise me?”  
“Surprise him? Ink is there something you aren’t telling me?”  
“It’s nothing important, Sci. Don’t worry about it.” Ink grinned at him and Error couldn’t help a small smile. He missed that stupid, shit-eating grin.  
“Anyways, how did you find out I was here?” Ink pouted slightly.  
“I asked Dream.”  
“Oh…” Ink rolled his eyelights. “Anyways, I need to go through a few more tests, but Sci is pretty sure he successfully created an artificial soul for me!”  
Error froze halfway through opening his mouth to chew out Sci for testing on Ink, blinking. “He actually did it..?”  
“Theoretically. There’s still a lot that could go wrong, so I’m having Ink use a combination of both his vials and the soul, just in case it decides to suddenly malfunction. We do not want an emotionless ink on our hands during this.”  
Had this not been about Ink, Error would have tuned the nerd out already. He shakes his head, muttering insults about Sci to himself instead of voicing them like he wanted to. He walks over to Ink, holding his hand out. Ink’s eyes light up and he quickly but carefully takes Error’s hand. Despite glitching up a bit, the touch doesn’t actually hurt anymore, which Error is grateful for. He gives Ink’s hand a small squeeze.  
“Why did you want to surprise me?”  
“Well… after our conversation in Outertale I realized that I really wanted to be able to like- actually feel things without altering it with my vials. Sci said that I’ll still need to use the paints to power the soul, but instead of taking more of one to feel things the soul will do it automatically! It’ll also be able to form emotions I wasn’t able to make myself! Isn’t that great?”  
He tried to ignore it, but a hint of fear took over Error’s mind. “Yeah.. that’s great, Squid.” What if Ink realized he loved someone else? What if he lost interest in being around Error altogether? At least with his vials, Ink could control his emotions. Panic was slowly seeping into Error’s head, and he stepped back, pulling his hand away from Ink’s.  
“Glitchy? Are you okay?”  
“I-...yeah. I’m fine. Come find me when you’re finished with your testing, m’kay?” He forced a smile onto his face to ease Ink’s mind, opening a portal to Outertale.

When Ink arrived in Outertale, he quite literally tackled Error into a hug. It worked! He actually had a soul now! Granted, it was artificial and technically still powered by his paints, but it made less work for him! He was about to go on an excited rant, but heard a sudden beep of Error rebooting.  
When Error came to, Ink was grinning. He also looked like a dog that got caught doing something it wasn’t supposed to.  
“I’m sorry Glitchy! I got excited to tell you the news…” he rubbed the back of his skull, smiling. Error rolled his eyes. With anyone else, he would snap at them and send them as far away from him as he could, but it was different with Ink.  
“It’s okay, but please don’t do it again. At least not without warning me. And approaching slowly.”  
“I know I know I’m sorry. But guess what! It worked! I have a soul now!” Ink was grinning so wide Error was worried he would crash again. He looked so happy, and despite all his worries, Error was happy for him.  
“That’s amazing, Squid! How does it feel?”  
“Incredible!!! I’m so happy right now, and without my vials! It feels so great!” Ink laughs, doing a spin and falling onto the ground after tripping on his scarf, giggling. Error shook his head a bit, holding his hand out to help him up. Ink took it with an even brighter smile, pulling himself up carefully.  
“Honestly, I really wanna thank you Error.”  
“Thank me? For what?”  
“If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have even considered going to Sci for an artificial soul!” Error tilted his head.  
“But you’ve wanted one for like- longer than you can even remember haven’t you?”  
Ink giggled. “Well, yeah. But it wasn’t my main priority. I could feel things enough with my vials that I didn’t see a need to go to anyone. But, finding out how you felt about me and realizing that I couldn’t feel that way about you made me realize just how much I was missing with just my vials.” He grins, again. “So, thank you!”  
Error laughs a bit, shaking his head. “You’re welcome, Squid.”

Luckily, it seemed that Ink hasn’t lost interest in Error with the gain of his new soul. In fact, he’s been hanging out with him more than before. He’s been a lot more touchy with Error, but he really doesn’t mind. Ink at least knows to warn him and back off when he reaches his limits. Overall, it’s been really nice. Sci has been easing Ink off of the vials as if they were drugs (which, in a sense, they were) and Ink is becoming more dependent on his soul to feel things. Error’s happy he’s been there for it all. Even the worst of it.

The first time Ink had a breakdown, Error was the first person he went to. Error was just wandering around Snowdin of the original timeline when Ink just suddenly appeared. He was sobbing uncontrollably, and honestly was a mess. Error, being the wonderful friend he is, immediately ran over to Ink, pulling a blanket from some random au and wrapping it around him, leading him through a portal to Outertale. It had become their place over time, so obviously it was the first place Error thought to go. Ink wrapped his arms around him, sobbing into his chest. While it did make Error glitch and almost crash, he forced it away. He couldn’t crash right now. Ink needed him.  
“Ink what happened? Are you okay? Do I need to kiLl someone?” he rubs his back gently, still forcing himself to ignore the phantom pain and crash that are trying to take over his body.  
“I-i don’t know. I just- just- I was just sitting around in- in the doodlesphere when- suddenly i was overwhelmed with- with sadness. It- it won’t go away.” his words melted to incomprehensible sobs as he gripped onto Error like he would disappear if he let go. “Please- please don’t leave.”  
“It’s okay Inkblot. I’m not going anywhere,” His voice was soft and soothing, and he continued to rub Ink’s back until he fell asleep.

After that incident, Ink came to Error whenever he was feeling too much of any emotion. Overjoyed, depressed, angry or frustrated, you name it. Error really didn’t mind. It felt nice knowing that Ink trusted him enough to go to him with this kinda stuff.  
Right now they were hanging out in Ink’s house in the doodlesphere (Ink had finally let error in after making him promise not to destroy anymore aus. Error reluctantly agreed), Ink drawing and Error knitting, as usual. They were sitting in a peaceful silence, when Ink spoke up.  
“Hey Glitchy?”  
“Yeah?”  
“What does love feel like?” Ink almost sounded like a kid asking their parents, the way he sounded hopeful but at the same time clueless.  
“Whaddya mean?” Error tossed his knitting aside, looking over at Ink. The other had by now abandoned his sketchbook on the floor, watching Error.  
“Well, you love me, right?” Error blushed lightly at that. “What does it feel like?”  
His blush darkened and he averted his gaze. “I- it’s hard to describe. I get this- like this weird warm feeling? In my chest? And for some reason everything you do is stupidly adorable and it’s not fair-” Ink giggles, poking Error’s face.  
“You’re stupidly adorable.”  
Error blushed more, sticking his tongue out. “Anyways. It’s hard to describe. You just- you just know. Y’know?” He half shrugged, not being able to find any other way to explain it.  
Ink hums, looking down and thinking. After awhile he smiles to himself, standing up. “Thanks. Are you hungry?”

Error didn’t really think anything of Ink’s questioning. Well, not until Ink asked him to meet in Outertale at a specific time. He arrived, and Ink was standing there with his hands behind his back. He was grinning brighter than he has since he first got his soul, and for a moment Error was concerned.  
“Squid you didn’t randomly decide to drink your vials today did you?”  
“Nope! I’m just really happy because I finally figured out something I’ve been trying to figure out for a while.” A faint rainbow blush could just barely be seen on Ink’s face.  
“Oh? What would that something be?” Error tilted his head, smiling slightly. He liked seeing Ink happy. It made him happy.  
Ink blushed a bit darker, and removed his hands from behind his back, holding something out. Error focused his gaze on it, his confusion growing as he carefully took the item from Ink’s hand.  
Error held the echo flower a bit closer to him, gently tapping one of the petals. ‘Error, I finally realized something that I never would have realized if it hadn’t been for you’ He blinked, looking up at Ink, who was holding out another echo flower.  
‘With your help, I was able to get everything I’ve ever wanted. A soul, real emotions, and more importantly, your friendship’  
Error was slowly beginning to realize where this was going and his face heated up, taking the third echo flower Ink was holding out.  
‘I would never, in a million years, want to ruin what we’ve grown to have. It’s meant more to me than anything else in the multiverse’  
‘Finding out you loved me had scared me at first. I was scared of saying the wrong thing and ruining everything.’  
‘Luckily, though, I didn’t ruin everything! You’re still here and I’m happier than ever.’  
‘Error, I’m finally ready to say something to you that I’ve wanted to say for so long. Something I wanted to say even before I had a soul.’  
‘I waited, because I wanted it to be truthful. And then, I just had to make sure.’  
‘Error, I love you. Ever since I was given the ability to, I’ve loved you.’  
After listening to the last flower, Error gaped at Ink, who was blushing darkly and grinning dorkily. How long had he been planning this?  
“Ink- I- Wow I’m literally speechless.” His voice glitches a bit, on the brink of a crash. “You- went through all the trouble of telling the messages to each individual flower, and making sure they were in the right order, and setting up a time to give them to me in my favorite place?”  
“I- yeah. I wanted it to be special.” His gaze suddenly falls. “Do you not like it?”  
“Nonono! I love it Squid! I- I’m just surprised you thought someone like me was worth all that effort.” He looks away shyly.  
“Error, you’re worth all of this and more. I really wanted to tell you since I first got my artificial soul, but I just had to make sure. But now I’m sure. Oh!-” he turns, holding out one more flower. “I almost forgot this one!”  
Error can’t help his idiotic grin. He took the flower from Ink, tapping it.  
‘Error, will you be my boyfriend?’  
Regardless of what he was expecting, that caused him to crash. When he came to, Ink was looking at him worriedly.  
“Glitchy?! Are you okay?!”  
Error chuckles a bit “Yeah, I’m okay Ink. Just- got overwhelmed I guess.” he carefully adds the flower he’s holding in his hand to the bunch in his other hand, smiling brightly at Ink.  
“Well..?”  
“Ink, I would love to be your boyfriend.”  
Ink gasps, his eyes turning to stars and he goes to hug Error, before stopping. “Can I?” Error nods, and Ink grins, practically tackling him. Error laughed, hugging Ink just as tight.  
“Hey Glitchy?”  
“Yeah Squid?”  
“I love you”  
“I love you too”


End file.
